A Mughal-period text calls a forest community jangli. A historian explains what the term described in the texts of that time. Which of the following gives that meaning?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Those whose livelihood came from gathering forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture
Option (1) Those whose livelihood came from gathering forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture — Correct. In texts of the time, jangli meant people who lived by gathering forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture. These seasonal tasks kept them on the move.
Option (2) Those regarded as uncivilised people living outside settled society — Incorrect. Being jangli did not mean an absence of civilisation. That sense comes from the way the word is used today.
Option (3) Those who cleared forests to set up permanent villages of settled peasants — Incorrect. Jangli people lived by mobile, season-based work in the forest. Mobility was a distinctive feature of these tribes.
Option (4) Those who served the Mughal army as hunters and elephant catchers — Incorrect. The state did take elephants as peshkash from forest people, but jangli described a way of life drawn from the forest.
NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 Beyond settled villages … |